Croatia: Communist Monument Dedicated to the Uprising of the People of Kordun and Banija (Petrova Gora)

During WWII, the fascist government of Croatia openly collaborated with the Nazi German regime, and began a racially motivated pogrom against ethnic Serbs. It is believed that Croatian fascists murdered around 500,000 ethnic Serbs in a purpose-bulit Concentration Camp. However, ethnic Serbs came into contact with Communist partisan units and joined the anti-fascist effort. This eventually led to a battle between Serbian partisans armed only with pitch-forks, attacking heavily armed fascist Croation troops that had infiltrated the Petrova Gora area. The Yugoslav government had this monument constructed in 1981 to remember the bravery of the anti-fascist partisans – but with the collapse of the USSR in 1991 – Yugoslavia also disintegrated due to Western pressure. Far-right attitudes resurfaced in Croatia, and Communist Era monuments have either been destroyed or left to fall apart through neglect.